WWE Superstars The Miz & Maryse Talk ‘Miz & Mrs’ Ahead of Its Return
Q&A
Mike “The Miz” Mizanin and his wife Maryse won over new audiences outside the WWE Universe thanks to their infectious chemistry on USA Network’s reality show Miz & Mrs.
Now the “It Couple” are back as Season 1 returns with new episodes that follow their adventures acclimating to life in Austin, juggling careers and caring for newborn Monroe Sky. And let’s not forget the brood of pets and lovable, yet eccentric live-in grandma Marjo.
The two revealed in February at the Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View event that they are also expecting another baby. Ahead of the show’s return, Miz and Mrs. took time out of their hectic schedules to explain why the continuation of season one is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!
What would you say you took or learned from doing this show?
The Miz: Our lives are pretty funny as it is. That’s the one thing that we learned. Another thing is being parents is a full-time job. It’s a lot of not sleeping, but it’s the most rewarding thing you could ever have. It’s absolutely incredible. Shooting-wise, we realized the more real it is the funnier it is. We just tried to keep it as real as possible while making sure the audience is entertained at all times. We want to tell them a captivating story and give them characters they can literally look and say, “Wow, they are like us.”
You say entertaining characters. We see your parents on frequently. Since the first six episodes aired last year, and more people are getting to know them, have they changed at all? Do they have big heads?
Maryse: Not really. I mean, my mom is a living character. George Mizanin is a living character. Sometimes I wonder how we are so normal.
Miz: How we can be so normal. To be honest, watching this show, we are actually not that normal.
Maryse: It’s one thing to watch it back and go, “Wow, that’s us.”
Miz: It’s funny because my dad goes to the casino every single night. Ever since Miz & Mrs has aired he always likes getting the notoriety from people saying, “Oh my God! You’re Mr. Miz!”
(USA Network)
Maryse: My mom likes to talk to everyone. The other day we were at Whole Foods, and she was just talking to the cashier lady for 25 minutes because they recognized her. I’m like, “Okay mom. We are in and out. We’re getting what we need, and we’re out.” It doesn’t work like that.
Miz: I’m glad my dad gets a taste of what it’s like, because he has no idea. He is now like, “Wow, these people really know me.” This next upcoming 14 episodes, it will be interesting to see how much more people recognize them. It has only been six episodes. When I was on the Real World, it took about three seasons of being on Real World, being on The Challenge before everyone knew who I was. I’m curious to see if that dynamic happens to this day because the landscape of TV has changed.
Next, we’ll see them working conventions charging for a photo and autograph.
Miz: They are already talking about it. Trust me.
Maryse: We have a signing at Axxess before WrestleMania, and my mom goes, “Oh, you have a signing. I’m going to go with you. I wonder what I should wear.”
Miz: We’re like. “Listen guys. This is our autograph signing.”
Speaking of your dad, Miz, he is a part of your current storyline now with Shane McMahon heading into WrestleMania. What has that been like? You are also on the opposite side of things, cheered as the fan favorite. Talk about an adjustment.
Miz: It’s the weirdest thing, to be honest. I don’t know how to act anymore. I’m so used to being the heel, the bad guy. The weird part about it is when you’ve been the bad guy for so long, I was in a groove where people were considering me one of the best bad guys of all-time. Then all of a sudden, I became so bad I became good. It was like the Joker or Freddy Krueger. And Freddy Krueger after the fourth movie became a good guy. Now I have to figure that out.
As far as having my dad involved in these storylines, it has been really great. To be honest, that really was the first time my dad ever told me he was proud of me and that he loved me. I was in Cleveland, and I was eating with my cousins. They go, “Wow, that was amazing. My dad has never said that.”
I think it might be something with our family. We just don’t tell each other that we love each other or that we care about each other or are proud of each other. We just show it through what we do. I didn’t realize they went through the same thing with their dads, who were my dad’s brothers. The first time my dad told me he loved me was in front of 20,000 people.
Photo by: Felicia Graham/USA Network
Take me through the time period these episodes were shot.
Miz: You see Monroe all the way from four months all the way till she is almost 1 year old. You see that chronicled. That’s what it is all about. I like to think of it as first-time parents in the entertainment industry and how we survive. That’s kind of what we are doing. It’s crazy. I watched the first episode, and she looks so different than she does now. It’s amazing how fast they can really grow.
You announced recently you are having baby No. 2. Now with Monroe getting older, does it make you look at your careers and maybe slowing down a little bit more?
Maryse: I remember just 10 years ago, “My goodness, I need to slow down just a little bit.” You keep going and going. There is always something else. When I had Monroe, I thought about slowing down a little bit. I was back on SmackDown Live four months after and had my first match five months after. Now I think about slowing down, and I got pregnant again. I’m going to have two kids and think I’ll figure it out. It’s funny how we think.
(USA Network)
Miz: We try to slow down, but then sometimes happens that picks us right back up. Having Monroe, we thought we had to slow down and put family first. I think we did a really good job with that. Even though we are going at such a fast pace, we always make sure we have the time for each other and for our daughter because I don’t want to be that dad who is never there. I want to be there for her and my wife as much as possible.
Maryse: I think we are good at reorganizing everything. It went from, “Okay WWE, book us for the next 60 days.” Now we have to think about it and rearrange things.
Miz: We organize better. We go to talent relations, and now we will say no. Before I would say yes to everything because that is the type of person I was. I wanted to be the hardest worker. Now it’s still being the hardest worker, but also working smarter.
Photo by: Felicia Graham/USA Network
Maryse, you mention coming back to the ring so quickly. What was your secret? Also, with women’s wrestling the way it is right now, are you motivated to have another last run like Brie Bella did?
Maryse: I think I did have one more when I came back. Initially, Brie Bella was a year-and-a-half in. I was four months in. When it comes to bragging rights, which in WWE is all about bragging rights, I think I own it.
Miz: I don’t think there has ever been a woman to come back as quickly as Maryse did and do a main event SmackDown Live in a singles match. It was two moms. Maryse was five months out of pregnancy. Brie was a year-and-a-half. They had a match, and then at Hell in a Cell, myself and my wife versus Daniel Bryan and his wife. I think that was a huge comeback for her. She not only showed what she can do, but what moms can do.
Maryse: It’s not easy. I can tell you from my years in WWE I’ve had a lot of injuries, which I don’t talk about. I had many. I’ve went through surgeries but going through pregnancy is probably the hardest thing I’ve done. I loved it, but it’s very hard. It’s not easy at all. It’s not easy after either. The biggest part was after because you want to be a working mom, but you also want to be the best mom. You want to do it all. So, you try to figure out how you are going to do it. For me coming back so soon, I always loved working out. About eight weeks I was back in the gym slowly. It just kind of happened.
Miz: You were really motivated. You ate right. You were in the gym and getting yourself prepared mentally and physically. I a lot of it is mental.
Maryse: The thing is I like it. For me, I like starting something like working out and eating good and seeing the results. It keeps you going. I found myself back in the mix somehow. If you told me I would be back after four months I would have said, “Come on now. Funny.”
What else can viewers expect the rest of this season? Why should they watch?
Miz: If you want to be entertained, laugh. If you had a hard day at work or at home, and you just want to relax and release your mind and just be entertained by great storytelling, great characters. Have fun with it.
I look at our reality show as a cross between, Curb Your Enthusiasm meets The Office meets Modern Family. You’ll laugh. You might cry, but you will definitely walk away with something to talk about…There are things everyone goes through, but nobody talks about it. We’re going to talk about it.
Miz & Mrs, returns Tuesdays beginning April 2, 10/9c, USA Network
WrestleMania 35 streams live around the world April 7, 7/6c, WWE Network and Pay-Per-View
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